A giant has fallen.   wad-@comcast.net
  Jul 06, 2006 09:03 PDT 
ENTS

I went out into the woods to survey the damage from some storms that have blown through the area. I was deeply saddened to find the Pa State Co-champion Bitternut Hickory in pieces on the forest floor. This was the first tree I ever nominated. At 11.4x112 with a 43' spread, this old growth remnant meant alot to me. It dropped a major limb three years ago, and apparently had a large cavity about 40' up. That is where it twisted off. I cut a piece off, that would have been about 40' up, to count the rings. The piece was three inches worth of rings that came to 12 yrs per inch. The tree was roughly 43.6" dbh. That comes to about 260 years old. that nut sprouted around 1746. Just think of what it has seen....

You may find me a bit off after this next part, but here it goes... My niece was stricken with AML Leukemia last year at age two. I am not terribly religious, although I am spiritual. I went down to this tree for a talk, and asked it for help. Part of me thinks that the energy from that tree helped my niece. She had a bone marrow transplant and is doing well a year later. She had a 50% chance to live, which went up to 70% when her sister was a match for the bone marrow. Of the 8 or 10 kids on her floor in the hospital, she is the only one that is still alive. I like to think that the Ole Hickory took her place in line.

Thanks for listening. Scott
RE: A giant has fallen.   Robert Leverett
  Jul 06, 2006 09:35 PDT 

Scott,

   Thank you so much for sharing your poignant experience with the
bitternut hickory and the moving story about your niece's recovery.

   I appreciate your sharing what many of us hold as beliefs about the
powers held in other life forms, but are reluctant to talk about
publicly for fear of ridicule, giving offense, or just being
misunderstood. I have been a kind of amateur psychic investigator for
most of my life and I have come to make room within my belief system for
energy patterns and levels of transference that do not lend themselves
to regular scientific investigation. At times of great need or stress, I
call upon those sources - without any clear image of their nature or
structure. I could cite many examples of where I thought "something"
worked on my behalf.

    Perhaps the spirit of that old tree lives on. Perhaps not. But when
you needed it, I'd like to think that in some form it was there.

Bob
RE: A giant has fallen.   James Smith
  Jul 06, 2006 19:53 PDT 


  You may find me a bit off after this next part, but here it goes... My
niece was stricken with AML Leukemia last year at age two. I am not
terribly religious, although I am spiritual. I went down to this tree
for a talk, and asked it for help. Part of me thinks that the energy
from that tree helped my niece. She had a bone marrow transplant and is
doing well a year later. She had a 50% chance to live, which went up to
70% when her sister was a match for the bone marrow. Of the 8 or 10
kids on her floor in the hospital, she is the only one that is still
alive. I like to think that the Ole Hickory took her place in line.

Thanks for listening. Scott

I'm not religious, nor do I believe in the supernatural. However, that
is a nice way of thinking of your neice's progress. I hope she recovers
and has a full life.